Chapter 1803 - 2105: Soul Stone (8)
"Lady Du, I..." Ling Chen was about to speak when Du Yunzhi silenced him with a gesture. "There’s no need to say anything. You all can leave now. From this moment on, our Guardian Clan will have nothing more to do with you. We also hope you will not disturb us again."
Hearing this, Ling Chen was momentarily stunned, somewhat doubting if he heard it wrong. Du Yunzhi actually let them go, neither holding them accountable for their mistakes nor seeking cooperation with them. Moreover, from the tone of her voice, it seemed like she didn’t intend to retrieve the stolen Soul Stones.
"Lady Du, aren’t you going to seek revenge?" he asked. "He Honggang and his people killed so many of yours; this feud is irreconcilable. Even if you don’t want revenge, you should retrieve those Soul Stones."
Du Yunzhi shook her head and said, "There’s no need for that. You’ve seen how badly the Guardian Clan has been hit; fewer than half of us remain. With our strength alone, there’s no way we can fight He Honggang. Rather than making unnecessary sacrifices, it’s better to stay here and continue our mission."
Uh... with those words, Ling Chen didn’t know how to respond. After a pause, he stood up and said, "Alright then, since you’ve made your decision, I won’t say more. Farewell!" With that, he clasped his hands in a fist salute and turned to leave the room.
Back in the stone chamber, Ling Chen recounted his conversation with Du Yunzhi to Ling Gengqiu. After listening, Ling Gengqiu was surprised and said, "She’s actually not seeking revenge? Anyone would find this intolerable. How can she remain unmoved? Something’s not right."
"Forget it! Let’s not dwell on it. Since they refuse to act, there’s no need for us to get involved."
At that point, Ling Chen and the others packed lightly and headed to the foot of Qiu Nanshan. Although night had fallen, everyone was keen to return, so they traveled through the night, only spending a little more time than during the day.
Not until around ten o’clock the next morning did the group successfully return to East Sea City.
Back at the Dragon Tiger Hall, everyone exhausted from the day and night headed straight to their rooms to rest.
Night fell.
After sleeping the entire day, Ling Chen climbed out of bed, ate something quickly, and then drove alone to the base. He had been busy dealing with the Guardian Clan’s affairs, leaving other matters delayed. Now that there was no need for him to be involved with Du Yunzhi’s side, he needed to quickly resolve his own issues.
At the base, Hu Fei was still busy in the main control room. Ling Chen approached him from behind, glanced at the complex codes on the computer screen, and asked, "What are you up to?"
Hu Fei looked back at him and grinned, "Oh! You’re finally back. I thought you’d gone missing."
"Fortunately, I’m tough, or you wouldn’t be seeing me now."
"You’ve been away for a few days. I haven’t been idle; see? I’m rebuilding the firewall for the base. With my modifications, our base’s system is absolutely a fortress that no one can break into. Even if hackers from Netherworld Snake come, I’m not afraid."
Seeing his smug look, Ling Chen laughed and said, "I know you’re a genius now; no one can compare to you. Hey! How are things going on Bai Zhangqiu’s side."
"What things?"
"The deep hypnosis experiment. Is he ready?"
"Oh!" Hu Fei suddenly understood and said, "You mean that? Everything’s ready. We can start anytime."
"Alright then." Ling Chen nodded and said, "I’ll go to Wanqing later and bring her here."
"Why, are you planning to go abroad?"
"Go abroad? Who said I’m going abroad."
"Miss Nanrong has already gone overseas. Since you’re going to find her, you must go abroad, right? Or did I say something wrong."
"She’s gone abroad?" Ling Chen was stunned for a moment and slapped Hu Fei on the head, speaking vexedly, "Didn’t I tell you? Make sure to keep an eye on her and don’t let her leave East Sea City."
"You can’t blame me." Hu Fei said innocently, "I wanted to keep her, but I couldn’t do it. You don’t know, but Jiang Yue’e somehow managed to get government security personnel to protect them and escort them onto the plane. You can’t expect me to go against the government, right? Besides, I kept calling you for those two days, but I couldn’t reach you. What could I do then?"
Hearing this, Ling Chen immediately thought of Yang He. The Yang family’s connections are vast, and it was probably Yang He who got the government involved. With that, no one would dare harm the mother and daughter.
"How long have they been gone?"
"Not even a week. Don’t worry, I’ve already sent someone to follow them secretly. I have a clear grasp of their every move abroad. However, I do have some bad news."
"What news?"
"Last night, Jiang Yue’e met Nanrong Wanqing with Yang He’s parents. Not only that, but the Yang family also held a banquet and invited many social elites. I hear they might be hosting an engagement ceremony. If this news is true, given the Yang family’s status and influence abroad, it will soon be reported."
After hearing this, Ling Chen was silent for a moment and then asked, "Where’s Bai Zhangqiu? I want to talk to him."
"He’s in the underground lab. That guy is quite dedicated; he spends all day in the lab. He said he wants to replicate the experiments he conducted with Netherworld Snake."
"Just be careful, don’t cause any major trouble. I’ve got a bunch of messes to handle myself, and I don’t have time to look into these right now."
In the laboratory, Bai Zhangqiu was seen discussing something with several researchers. Seeing Ling Chen approaching, Bai Zhangqiu instructed the others briefly and then quickly walked up to him.
"Mr. Ling." Bai Zhangqiu greeted with a smile.
"Mr. Bai, I heard from Hu Fei that you’ve been quite busy lately."
"I used to work for others, but now I have my own laboratory where I can make all the decisions. It’s an incredible feeling." Bai Zhangqiu laughed and said, "I plan to redo all the experiments I handled at Netherworld Snake."
"Mr. Bai, since I’ve entrusted the laboratory to you, you’re free to do as you please. I have no right to interfere. However, are you really planning to follow Netherworld Snake’s path?" Ling Chen asked, "Netherworld Snake mainly conducted human experiments, and I don’t have test subjects to provide."
"Mr. Ling, I know what you’re worried about, but rest assured, I won’t do anything unethical. I’ve actually already determined the experimental direction. Speaking of which, this experiment was inspired by Dr. Jiang."
"You mean Jiang Yue’e?"
Bai Zhangqiu nodded and said, "That’s right. By the way, I’ve drafted a design blueprint for the experiment. Do you want to take a look?" With that, he pulled up a file on the computer.
Ling Chen scrutinized it for a few moments, and his face immediately showed a strange expression.